Dreamland
Muse Gallery
Bushwick, Brooklyn
Closed
“The world is not as bright as it used to be,” artist NARCO (@artbynarco) noted, explaining why vibrant colors are so crucial to her art style. To her, art is a way to reclaim and showcase the brightness that is becoming harder to see in the world.
At the Dreamland Art Exhibition, hosted by Odd Ball Generation Mixed Media (@odd_ball_generation) at the Muse Gallery (@themusegalleryny) in Brooklyn, NARCO was one of multiple local artists asked to dream, in any and all directions they saw fit.
Dreamland, a one-night showing co-curated by OBG’s Kwanzaa Owes and Turner Messer and organized by Britney Jones (@islandgalbrit), was a “re-launch” for the organization. OBG, which was co-founded by Owes and Julian Ested (@j_u_u_l_e_z), had been on hiatus for about a year as the team worked on improving business operations.
The artists featured in their return exhibition displayed a variety of interpretations of the idea of dreams, from blissful fantasy, harrowing nightmares, and a dubious American Dream.
Narco’s paintings do exactly as she described in the artists’ Q&A portion of the evening. One, titled “Aziza Fairy Landed” after a benevolent fae-like creature from West African folklore, depicts an Aziza sitting atop a human hand. The piece reminded me of the sort of gentle, delicate majesty one might experience in the brief moment that a butterfly lands on them.
In another, titled, “Visions of the Universe,” NARCOS puts a Black woman front and center amidst and embodying the cosmos. Across all of the pieces NARCOS had on display, I admired the way that Black subjects were embracing the mythical, the blissful, and the infinite. She beautifully expresses the idea that within each of us, there is a magic that is abundant as nature itself, and as expansive as the universe we live in.
Bronx Artist Santi (@_ontheartist) had a piece on display, “The Skeletons in My Closet”, that depicts what happens when dreams turn sour and continue to torment us as nightmares, despite how much we try to hide them away.
The physics-defying cruelty of the skeletons acessoring themselves with earrings and necklaces made from the subject’s tears provided a provocative contrast between the piece and most others at the exhibition. If dreams are an expression of the unconscious mind unleashed, then “The Skeletons in My Closet” is a compelling look at what happens when we suppress our guilt, shame, and anxieties.
In another one of her pieces, “Crescent Moon,” the blue figure’s hair forms a crescent moon over a dazzling gold background. I was struck by the precise and intricate brushwork on both the hair and the background of this piece.
During the Q&A, Santi mentioned that the fairies in the piece were a direct reference to the ones from The Legend of Zelda, a game that she would often watch her aunt and uncle play as a child. Like in those games, I imagine those fairies surrounded the subject to provide a necessary healing and respite from the trials of the day. As someone whose earliest escapes into fantasy worlds were with video games, I enjoyed hearing about the inspiration for that one.
Owes (@keyztothefuture), a Harlem-based artist himself, had some of his own artwork on display at Dreamland, and remarked during the Q&A that for him, dreams are about freeing the inner child through his art.
He describes his pieces as “abstract windows,” and I was fascinated by the way his cartoonish yarn figures toe the line between a child’s silly imaginary friend, and their scarier counterpart, the monster under the bed.
The last artist who had work on display at the exhibition was DNice (@dnice_theartist). Her piece, “cloud 9”, was one of my favorites from the exhibition, depicting a figure lying peacefully atop a cloud, surrounded by the various strains of weed that got them that high. I enjoyed the symbolism there, along with the mixed texture of paint and packaging at work in the piece.
Amidst a variety of artwork that expressed the concept of dreams in a whimsical direction, DNice’s painting, “The American Dream,” stood out as especially grounded in a harsh reality that most of the other pieces aimed to either transcend or shy away from.
Depicting a simple white picket fence with a “For Sale” sign attached, the painting, in conversation with the rest of the exhibition, helped me understand what made Dreamland so special. Even when the material promises of the “American Dream” fail to manifest, there is sometimes solace and catharsis to be found in manifesting artistic dreams, as the artists at Dreamland did.
The artists weren’t the only ones asked to dream that evening. For attendees, the fashion theme of the evening was “Fantasy”. I appreciated the chance to don my Lil Nas X Butterfly Concert T‑shirt, which I dearly love but have so few occasions to wear.
Throughout the evening, we were also treated to a variety of musical performances by attendees and friends of OBG. Some folks were debuting their own music, including Kai Emani (@kai.emani) who performed her new single, “Personal”, George Pope (@gpiii__) who performed his new single, “Stay (interlude)” and Hannah Bandz (@hannah.bandz_), who performed, “Rollin”, a new single of her own.
Others sang favorites new and old. Johnique Edwards (@gods_blessing_1) got the crowd to call and respond to her rendition of “I am Light” by India Arie, and Amil Alston (@milli_914) brought the house down with his rendition of Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together”. Messer (@wizard721) as one of the exhibit’s co-curators, also took a moment in the spotlight to deliver a euphonious rendition of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”. These performances were a lovely way to bring artists together across disciplines and live up to the “mixed media” part of OBG’s name.
In one of his most famous poems, “Harlem,” Langston Hughes asks, “What happens to a dream deferred?”. With Dreamland, OBG provided a wonderful opportunity for the community to come together and continue asking that enduring question, and offer new answers.
Up Next for OBG Mixed Media: The group plans to hold more artistic community-building events throughout the Fall, which they’ll promote on their instagram (@odd_ball_generation)
Up Next at The Muse Gallery: On September 28, they’ll be hosting their first Art Bar, a paint & sip event with live birds. Tickets are available at their instagram (@themusegalleryny)
Up Next for Me: I’ll be seeing Cross That River at 59E59 Theaters.
